The Final Score

Let's rank the people in the Isles organization that rookie coach Scott Gordon must get along with to keep his job for more than two years (going rate for NYI coaches):

1. Charles Wang.
2. Garth Snow.
3. Rick DiPietro.

After that no one really matters.

Wang and Snow are there for obvious reasons; they're Gordon's bosses. Then it's DiPietro, also for obvious reasons. He has 13 years left on his contract. If Gordon and DiPietro don't get along, guess who will be on the outs?

So I'm not so interested in the decision Gordon and co. made to sit DiPietro for last night's season opener. Was it tough? Sure, it had to have been. But it's also a bit of a no-brainer, too. If there's even a question to give him some extra time coming off surgery, you give him the time. Because he's more important than one of 82 games in a major rebuilding year.

But the biggest question of all is how did this go over with DiPietro? He ducked reporters last night after the game, so we don't know. But presumably reporters will catch up with him at today's morning skate, and then we'll find out. Was he a part of the decision? Did he know his status was in question? Does he agree with the decision? How did he respond when he got the news from Gordon? These questions are more important than anything that happened in last night's game, for the livelihood of the new coach.

We have no doubt Gordon made the right decision. But, far more importantly, soon we'll find out if he handled it the right way - and that's finding a way to make this decision without disenfranchising the franchise player.

With family in town for the weekend, we have been looking for things to do. While I'm scanning through the channels and checking the Islanders and Rangers scores, my father-in-law mentions in passing he's never been to a hockey game. My wife mentions why not go to the Islanders game Saturday night.

Probably a tough ticket, I thought to myself. It IS their home opener, afterall. Man, was I wrong. So many available.

Thus, when the puck drops tonight between the Islanders and Blues at the Coliseum, yours truly will be in the crowd. And you know what? I'm looking forward to experiencing it from the crowd. Of course, I will report back with my thoughts...

A lot of Yankees fans have gotten nostalgic over Joe Torre, even after his team went down for a second time to the Phillies Friday night.

But Joe's brother Frank, you know, the former Milwaukee Brave portrayed by Robert Loggia in "Curveballs Along the Way," is just plan furious at his brother's former employers.

"I wonder what the Yankees are thinking now while they're fishing or doing whatever," Torre said. "I have friends there. I will always root for Derek Jeter. But what they did to my brother was not right. Really, it was pathetic what they did. There was no class."

Here's the full story by Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

More from Frank, in case you're too tired or lazy to click on the link and leave The Final Score for even a moment.

"I hear (Yankees co-chairman) Hank Steinbrenner say where would Joe Torre be without the Yankees," Frank Torre said. "Well, let me tell you, Hank Steinbrenner was fortunate he was born in the Steinbrenner family. His inheritance is a whole lot bigger now than it would have been if not for my brother. I think he gained a lot more money than my brother after all of those World Series."

Tyler Kepner, the fine Yankees beat writer for the NY Times, has been a Friend of the Final Score (FOTFS) since Jim started this blog from his basement in 1998.

It was Tyler, as I've told you before, who unknowingly came up with our new slogan, "A lot of stuff about sports, and some of it is interesting."

And now, Tyler has paid us the ultimate compliment. A link from the NY Times Bats Blog in which he calls TFS "hilarious" and "insightful."

Wow. Best might win all the page-view titles, and Glauber might hold the record for most consecutive months with page-view increases, but this is something Jim, CN and I are very proud of.

And we pledge to you all to continue this fine tradition of blogging right up until the moment when we all lose interest.

This gem comes from Anthony, who spent the day at Jets camp in Florham Park, NJ.:

Jets coach Eric Mangini’s third son was delivered at 7:43 a.m. on Friday morning. His name: Zack Brett Mangini.

And he was born on Brett Favre’s 39th birthday.

“I’m not inherently superstitious,” Mangini said. “But I like the way it felt.”

The date of birth is a coincidence. The middle name is not. Mangini and his wife, Julie, have honored a different person in Eric’s football life by giving each of their sons a special middle name.

Four-year-old Jake’s middle name is Harrison, for Patriots safety Rodney Harrison (Mangini was a defensive assistant in New England). Two-year-old Luke’s middle name is William for Bill Belichick, once Mangini’s friend and mentor (and now not so much, but that’s another story).

“All my kids have middle names that are related to people that have been important to me in my football career,” said Mangini, still wearing his hospital ID bracelet on his left wrist.

“So in talking to Brett when we were first recruiting him, I explained that history,” Mangini said. “I really believed that he’d be an instrumental part of another good year and another important part of my football sort of life.”

Said Favre: “The odds of the child being born the same day as my birthday, I don’t know what the odds are. He told me that today was the day and I asked, ‘Well, is he still going to be Brett?’ He said, ‘Yeah, Zack Brett.’ I thought it was pretty cool. First of all the odds, in some respects, are a lot like me. What were the odds of me ever coming to the Jets? It is a pretty cool thing.”

* Ray Knight thinks he will likely return to Mid-Atlantic Sports Network for a third straight year of broadcasting Nationals games. But he dreams of a return to the field. He said he has one opportunity to be a coach, but it's not attractive enough. "I much prefer to being on the field, no doubt," he said. "I'd love to manage again."

* Knight has a daughter who was born during the 1986 season, and her middle name is Shea. So take that, Chipper.

* I told him a lot of Mets fans are saying the Mets need a player like Ray Knight to fire up this team. He laughed and suggested why not the read thing. "I haven't lost anything except speed, arm, probably can’t hit a lick..." he said.

* Players he likes to watch are Chase Utley, Ryan Freel, Grady Sizemore, Jason Varitek, Ryan Zimmerman and David Wright. "It’s not very hard to see the guys I love," he said. "They’re just the all-effort guys that are dead serious about what they’re doing and how they go about their business."

* Said he is still very, very, very competitive. "The other day my daughter was playing fast pitch softball. She was hitting. It was a crucial time of the game. The umpire does a tremendous job. I'm sitting behind home plate with the headmaster of our school and the umpire calls a 1-and-1 pitch that was way outside and way up, and before I knew it I yelled, 'Come on! Lets go! Get your head in the game!'"

Our friends at the Yankee site waswatching.com passed along a rumor about the Mets trading Beltran to the Yankees for Cano, plus Brian Bruney or Jose Veras and Ian Kennedy and more prospects and cash and maybe a couple of prime seats at the new Yankee Stadium.

I'd bet Chicago Norm's huge managerial salary that there have been no such discussions between the clubs, but it's fun to contemplate.

The Yankees should have signed Beltran back in the day when he wanted to play for them, and he would be a perfect fit for them now. But the Mets cannot trade Beltran without having another centerfielder to replace them, which the Yankees don't have to give.

Hopefully the people who spread these ideas can come back with something more realistic. Because we like the idea of Beltran on the Yankees.

Cano on the Mets? Sure, pair a guy whose knock is that he doesn't always play hard with Reyes, whose knock is he doesn't always play hard. Not a good idea.

Ray Knight called back last night, and we talked a lot about his uneasy separation from the Mets all these years. Here's the story. Knight is a great quote, a great storyteller, and I didn't have time to get into much else in my story. Here's Knight on the closeness of '86 team:

"Darryl confided in me a lot. Gary and I were basically locker-mates. They sometimes went at it. I don’t know if it was their egos. Or just how far apart they were personality wise.

"And so when Gary got on the bus he started heading to the back of the bus for Straw. They' exchanged words. I stood up between them and they calmed down. There were things like that that happened all the time. The next night if Darryl hit a big home run, or Gary did, they would be high-fiving, hugging, like it never happened."

News that the NFL has fined three Dolphins $10,000 each for too much happiness naturally sent me to YouTube to try to find the celebration. I couldn't, but I found this. It includes Chad Ocho Cinco before he was a Spanish number:

Here's what SI says:

An elite player, but injuries (hip, knee) and the Islanders' iffy defense have taken a toll on the 27-year-old goalie. Will he be the star who had a .919 save percentage in 2006-07 or the more vulnerable DiPietro of last year? If it's the latter, all is lost for the Isles.

Wouldn't a player from a Cup-contending team be more "On the Spot?" And how is a guy with a 15-year guaranteed contract "On the Spot"?

If DiPietro has a good year, he'll be the Islanders goalie next year and make the same money as if he has a bad year.

We should all be so "On the Spot"

I'm taking The Final Score's new slogan to heart. Tell me if you like this or if I'm wasting my time. A lack of comments will be construed as a thumbs-down.

- Two funny videos featuring Sarah Spain, above, a hot chick from Chicago. One's a Sarah Silverman riff, replacing Matt Damon with Bartman and the other involves someone willing to get kicked in the you-know-where in exchange for White Sox tickets.

- Who hit the teenager in the head with a shot put?

- Record-breaking catfish outweighs a prop forward. But you'll need a conversion chart to figure out how long it was or how much it weighed and I'm too lazy to do it for you. For that matter, I don't understand the headline, either.

- Minneapolis radio slimeballs trying to convince us that Magic Johnson faked HIV.

- Video of a unicyclist trying a skateboard trick - and crashing.

- Florida casino adds strip poker to it's gaming menu.

Too bad this didn't happen when I was in Dave Blaney's pit. I would have thrown down anyone and anything in my path.

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Greg Biffle isn’t angry with teammate Carl Edwards for starting a 12-car crash at Talladega Superspeedway.

Harvick appeared to try to walk away, and witnesses said Edwards reached for his shoulder to turn him back around. Harvick then shoved Edwards, who stumbled onto the hood of Harvick’s car, and the two had to be separated.

photo from tmz.com

I found this on TMZ.COM:

A TMZ employee went into a McD's in Hollywood yesterday and ordered a Happy Meal (don't ask). The box she received (pictured above) advertises six different electronic sports games, each of them named after a famous athlete. But Michael Vick is the only one of those athletes who is currently in federal prison.

We've contacted McDonald's for comment and they say they're getting back to us. This should be good.

Click here for McDonald's "apology," als on TMZ.

On Dec. 7, the Saints play the Falcons.

Morten Anderson would be 48 years, 110 days old. He figured this out, not me.

George Blanda was 48 years, 109 days old when he played his final game for the Raiders on Jan. 4, 1976.

And now Anderson wants to come back and kick an extra point for the Saints on Dec. 7.

"That came into my somewhat-oversized head here a couple of months ago," Anderson was quoted as saying in the Detroit Free Press. "I was just sitting around going, 'It's kind of silly just to retire. Let's go out with a bang, do something fun. Make it community event.' We could kind of do a fund-raiser; raise some money, too, for hurricane victims in Louisiana and do a lot of things."

Andersen, who retired after the 2007 season and holds the record for most games, points and just about every kicking record, said the Saints are receptive and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is considering a roster exemption.

I suppose it would be wrong to suggest that 81-year-old Blanda come back to Oakland on Dec. 14, and try to reclaim the geezer record.

This has to be a marketing ploy to sell jerseys, because otherwise I don't see the point in wearing them again Sunday.

Why in the world do the Jets want to wear these ugly uniforms?

Anyone agree, disagree?

(Just did a google search and found you can buy these jerseys. So obviously this is just a ploy to make $$$. Whatev.)

BTW: I'll be doing a different where-are-they-now than originally planned (sorry, Ickey, but I wasn't expecting this guy to call back). No hints. But I'm very excited about it.

From the Kansas City Star:

Kansas football coach Mark Mangino will make a personal plea to the KU students, encouraging them not to continue with a profane pre-kickoff chant at the Jayhawks’ home games, associate athletic director Jim Marchiony said.

The chant — based off a line from the 1998 Adam Sandler comedy, “The Waterboy” — states, “Rip his (expletive) head off,” referring to the opposing team’s kickoff return man.

KU will send a video of Mangino speaking to the student body over e-mail today, and the video will be replayed before the game on Saturday.

BACK TO ME: I, of course, have not seen "The Waterboy".

But I am a fan of Adam Sandler. There is a Sandler story that every member of the NY baseball media knows, but I will not repeat it here to protect the person involved. And it's not that funny if you don't know the person.

Some women in the Tampa area are now sporting a special hair-do to help cheer on the Rays in the ALCS. And it's nothing like the one worn by the woman pictured in this St. Petersburg Times photo.

This particular cut is not on the head, and it is done with bikini wax.

Get the picture?

I just wonder if any of these women will decide to show them off.

Here's more, from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

In an unrelated story, the Rays will be opening a Calamine Lotion stand on the lower concourse of Tropicana Field before Game 1 of the ALCS.

The Yankees spent $2,349,231 per victory last season.

The Mets spent $1,548,240 per victory.

The Tampa Bay Rays spent $451,759 per win.

You do the math.

Costs per win of the other three remaining playoff teams:

Dodgers: $1,411,768

Red Sox: $1,404,106

Phillies: $1,068,151

Go to MSNBC for the story and more numbers.

Running mate Joe Biden explains why Barack Obama didn't accompany him to a rally in Tampa.

"After what your Devil Rays did to the Chicago White Sox, he just couldn't do it," Biden said. "The man is hurting."

The past few weeks have been good ones for the Detroit Lions.

Well, maybe not on the field.

First they exorcised Matt Millen and then they won an $8.5 million judgment from an abitator who ruled that 2003 No. 2 pick Charles Rogers has to give back a huge chunk of the $14 million he received in bonus money.

The Lions filed a grievance in 2005 after Rogers proved to be a bust, and after he failed a drug test.

MINDEN, Nev. (AP) -- Clint Malarchuk, the former NHL goalie best known for having his jugular vein slashed by a skate in a 1989 game with Buffalo, is recovering after accidentally shooting himself in the chin with a rifle.

Wife Christy told sheriff's deputies that the .22-caliber rifle discharged after her husband placed the butt on the ground between his legs. He had been shooting rabbits.

The 47-year-old former player, now a goalie coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets, was flown by helicopter to a Reno hospital for treatment Tuesday.

Here's a video report about the jugular slashing. It's not as graphic as some videos you could find on the incident, but if you faint at the sight of blood dont watch it.

If Jeff Kent retires after this season, as is expected, these are his final numbers:

17 seasons
.290 / .356 / .500 which obviously is a .856 OPS
560 doubles
377 home runs
1518 RBIs
*one MVP award (2000: .334 / .424 / .596, 41 doubles, 7 triples, 33 HRs, 125 RBIs)
*finished in top ten of MVP voting three other times
*five-time All-Star

These are the 10 most similar batters, according to baseball-reference.com:
1. Yogi Berra (887) *
2. Carlton Fisk (881) *
3. Ivan Rodriguez (865)
4. Johnny Bench (854) *
5. Jim Rice (834)
6. Ron Santo (826)
7. Ryne Sandberg (825) *
8. Ted Simmons (821)
9. Andres Galarraga (819)
10. Ellis Burks (817)

Thoughts? I say no. And to those of you who think Kent compares favorably to HOFer Roger Hornsby, all you have to do is look at OPS. Kent: .856; Hornsby: 1.011.

*He is a football player.
*Never played for the Jets or Giants.
*But he did play for one of their opponents.
*Has a memorable name.
*Became memorable for, uh, something else he did.

More hints later if you need them.

Saw this on deadspin.

PETA took issue with a New York Times' blog post the other day that detailed Brett Favre's latest locker room prank, which involved placing an animal he killed in a teammate's locker.

Here's PETA's response:

"Blood? Guts? HILARIOUS! What do you think he follows this one up with—the old "kitten in the microwave" gag? That one's a real knee-slapper too. I hate to be the one to tell you this, Brett, but people who think dead animals are funny don't typically end up in the Hall Of Fame—sometimes, they end up in custody. ... Some people call guys like Favre who use military-grade weaponry to kill defenseless animals "sportsmen." You know what I call them? Cowards."

I guess this is not a good time to mention how a few years ago during Yankees spring training Kyle Farnsworth and Scott Proctor went hunting, killed an animal and placed a certain body part in the locker of Carl Pavano...

Throughout the baseball offseason we’ll be looking at different positions of need on the Yankees and Mets and offering our opinions on what the teams should do.

Today: the Yankees’ centerfield situation.

ANTHONY: GARDNER HAS GROWN ON ME

Let me kick off our first Hot Stove Debate by admitting that I was wrong about Brett Gardner. I thought he was nothing more than a 2008 copy of Jason Tyner. All speed and nothing else.

Well, after seeing him play, here are the things that I think will make Gardner an effective platoon centerfielder for the Yankees in 2009:

He has good plate discipline and should walk enough to compensate for a .250-.270 batting average, especially from the nine-hole; he is a tremendous defensive outfielder; he seems to have a knack for tough at-bats; his speed is a true weapon and the Yankees really need it.

Deficits? Well, they are obvious. No power. Might hit .210 instead of .250. Not a good bunter (which is an amazing failure of the Yankees’ minor league instructors. How can this guy not know how to bunt?)

I would start the season with Gardner in a platoon with a righthanded hitter. Maybe a veteran such as Jay Payton. Or even Melky Cabrera if he can get his act together.

Gardner will get the bulk of the at-bats. If he pans out, then you’ve got a replacement for Johnny Damon at the top of the order for 2010. If not, you move on to Austin Jackson or someone from outside.

I see Gardner as a big test for Joe Girardi. Girardi was supposed to be the guy who could reach the young players and make them better, remember? Well, he went 0-for-2008 with Melky, Cano, Hughes and Kennedy. They all took steps back.

Girardi is supposed to really like Gardner. Well, Joe, here’s your chance. The Yankees don’t need him to be a star. But they should give him first crack at centerfield.

JIM: NO IN-HOUSE ANSWER

Hey, I like Brett Gardner, too. But not if I was building a team and looking for a starting centerfielder. Melky Cabrera, this goes for you, too.

These are both fine backup outfielders. They both are plus defenders with strong arms, and Gardner has incredible speed, as well. But neither is the answer for centerfield, and I think the Yankees know that.

That's why the second priority of this offseason, behind improving the rotation, is finding an answer to centerfield.

The Yankees have already ripped off Pirates general manager Neal Huntington once - in the Nady/Marte deal - so maybe they can grab Nate McLouth off their hands, too? If it takes Robinson Cano, so what? Replace him with free-agent Orlando Hudson. McLouth, by the way, had 76 extra-base hits this year - that's more than any Yankee player.

Or perhaps they could sign Mike Cameron to a one-year deal (if the Brewers don't pick up his $10 million option) to buy themselves some time to find a long-term answer?

But McLouth and Cameron are on opposite ends of their careers, but there's no debating this fact: they are established major-league centerfielders, no doubt about it. Gardner and Cabrera are nice players - as backups.

*************************************************

What do you think, Yankee fans? Go with Gardner or go outside?

1. Dodger Dogs. Not what I'm used to, but they are a great ballpark treat.

2. Tampa Bay's Hebrew Nationals. The vendor dogs at Tropicana Field are a little iffy but the Hebrew Nationals available in the concourse taste great.

3. Fenway Franks. Edible, but not legendary. I'd recommend filling up on sausage & pepper sandwiches on Yawkey Way before heading into the ballpark.

4. Philly's Hatfield brand dogs. You need a lot of mustard to kill the taste. I'd recommend the Bull's BBQ instead.

Did Josh Bailey get hurt at practice today?

Yes, Bailey has been dealing with injuries throughout this preseason. But coach Scott Gordon said with a straight face yesterday that their reigning first-round pick is 100 percent healthy.

Is this the Rieber jinx?

The people in Windsor, Ontario, are happy that Josh Bailey made the Islanders roster out of training camp. But his GM with the Windsor Spitfires has mixed feelings because he would love to have the talented youngster on his team.

I talked to him and wrote about it.

So in the past two days Jim has written about Okposo and I've written about Bailey. Honestly -- and dont take this the wrong way -- other than DiPietro and the new coach I'm not sure there are too many other interesting storylines with the Islanders.

But we'll keep looking. Because TFS knows how important the Islanders are to you.

eBay said it violated the site's policy and yanked the listing after Scot Moore of Minneapolis put his allegiance to the Chicago Cubs up for auction and said that the proceeds would go to charity.

According to an eBay official, Moore's Cubs loyalty wasn't tangible enough to sell and "the seller didn't have the proper documentation in the listing for how you list a charity." Here's the Chicago Tribune story.

When the bidding was halted, the price was up to $7,100. No doubt that the winning bidder would have been a White Sox fan.

And here's another one about a dastardly rivalry between some Cubs-White Sox fans.

Very interesting column in The Dallas Morning News today by Jean-Jacques Taylor about Rafael Palmeiro, who is living the Mark McGwire life. In other words, non-existent to the public.

Taylor did speak with Palmeiro's wife, who had a few interesting things to say.

Palmeiro, like everyone else in this mess, would have been so much better off admitting the errors of their way instead of deny, deny, deny. Yes, it was superbly embarrassing for him after his finger-wag, but a public apology goes a long way. (See Giambi, Jason and Pettitte, Andy.)

I'm sure I've told you guys about how Palmeiro stood outside the Yankee clubhouse in Texas after a game in 2006, and he looked so tiny, like you had popped a balloon. Hey, just making an observation.

I first heard this song when "Baseball's Greatest Hits" debuted on vinyl, and have always found it comical.

But this video takes the amusing factor to a whole new level.